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Pak summons Indian envoy over ceasefire violations along LoC

LiveMint 31-08-2017Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday summoned India’s deputy high commissioner J. P. Singh over alleged “ceasefire violations” by Indian troops along the Line of Control (LoC) which resulted in the killing of a civilian.

Director general (South Asia and SAARC) Dr Mohammad Faisal summoned Singh and “condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations” by the Indian forces, the Foreign Office said. It claimed that a 55-year-old man was killed in Kotera Sector on 29 August in alleged firing by Indian forces.

”Despite calls for restraint, India continues to indulge in ceasefire violations,” it said. “The deliberate targeting of civilians is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity and international human rights and humanitarian laws,” the Foreign Office said.

The director general urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations, and instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire in letter and spirit and maintain peace along the LoC. He also called on the Indian side to allow the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council resolutions.

India maintains that UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control. The Foreign Office also accused India of committing more than 700 ceasefire violations this year which resulted in the killing of 29 Pakistani civilians. PTI